See the hidden me Be kind. Be patient. Don’t misread the signs. See the Hidden Me.

See the hidden me campaign focuses on what can be for many brain injury survivors, a hidden disability. See the hidden me raises awareness and understanding of the often misunderstood symptoms of a brain injury, and work to alleviate the challenges, and frustrations, survivors face.

To the outside world, you may look as you did before, but whether it be the day-to-day difficulties, or reoccurring misunderstandings of the effects of your brain injury, See the hidden me will empower survivors to talk about when hidden disability has made life more challenging, whilst also asking the general public for more understanding and respect.

The campaign gives a voice to brain injury survivors so friends, families, colleagues and professionals gain a better insight into the invisible battles they may face every day.

See the hidden me will help others see the hidden you.

Be kind. Be patient. Don’t misread the signs. See the Hidden Me.

With over three quarters of brain injury survivors struggling everyday due to the hidden effects of their injury, share this video to promote the simple message: Be kind. Be patient. Don’t misread the signs. See the Hidden Me.

New research shows more than three quarters of brain injury survivors struggle every day due to their hidden disability

Headway is sharing the stark results of the See the Hidden Me study which found that 76% of brain injury survivors experience problems on a daily basis because of the hidden, and often misunderstood nature of brain injury.

When a brain injury occurs, in a moment of trauma or medical emergency, the life of the person affected, alongside the lives of their loved ones, are changed in an instant. The See the Hidden Me campaign focusses on raising awareness of the battle that survivors and their carers face after the injury.

Key results:

• More than half (55%) of brain injury survivors feel they have been unfairly treated as a direct consequence of their brain injury being hidden
• Two thirds of friendships (67%) and more than half (55%) of relationships with a spouse/ partner have been negatively affected as a direct consequence of the brain injury being hidden
• 9 out of 10 (86%) of people affected by brain injury (survivors and carers) felt that a lack of understanding from society is one of the main challenges to living life with a hidden disability

Read more

Brain injury: A hidden disability

In February 2022, we launched a survey to explore the feelings and experiences of those affected by ABI around brain injury being a hidden disability. The survey was designed to be completed by brain injury survivors or anyone caring for someone with a brain injury (partners, family members, friends, etc).

The survey was completed by 2,682 respondents, providing a large sample to gain an accurate picture of the emotions and challenges of living with a hidden disability.

Explore the results in the infographic below, or download the full study report (PDF) to explore the impact of the hidden effects of brain injury.

Brain injury analogies

Our #SeeTheHiddenMe survey responses showed us some of the various analogies people use to describe what living with the hidden effects of brain injury is like - we've featured a selection in this video.

Do you have any ways of describing life after brain injury by relating it to something familiar? Share your brain injury analogies on social media using #SeeTheHiddenMe.

Explore the campaign